Moments Have You
by gorekind
Summary: When you're often incredibly bored at work, its the little things that help pass the time. Modern Marco/Ace AU. Trans and queer headcanons galore, focus on Whitebeard's crew, as well as Ace, Sabo, and Luffy all finding a sense of family. Rating will go up later!
1. Song to Sing

this started off with such a simple prompt - something like, "manager at a no-tell motel and frequent room renter. bonus: manager thinks they're a sex worker" - and the AU turned into something much bigger.

i hope you're ready for a bunch of queer/trans headcanons and queer solidarity!

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><p>Its a boring gig, to be honest, but its a steady one. Motel management is an easy station, and the patrons almost never give Marco trouble. The place has a bit of a reputation as some motel of ill repute, so everyone comes at night with their shoulders hunched and voices quiet, alcohol thick on their breaths.<p>

Just nameless faces he only needs to talk to for a few minutes at a time.

There's one face he's registered though, which is probably normal, considering how often he sees the person in question.

One of those people that turns heads. Not necessarily because he's drop dead gorgeous or unusual looking - he's attractive, yes, but its not in some ethereal or magnificent way. Confidence, Marco thinks; that's probably it. One of those people you want to be friends with, or you want to hear say your name.

Marco only knows his name because of what's on his ID. Ace. It fits, somehow.

Just a good looking sort of dude with a nice smile and a good laugh. Its probably that he's seen him before in the day time, when the sun is shining on his tanned skin and all of those freckles. Not the harsh fluorescents, which always make a person look washed out and grungy.

When you're often incredibly _bored_ at work, its the little things that help pass the time.

He comes in sporadically, but often. Always just for a night, checking in early on, always with a blonde boy who looks to be about the same age, who hangs back. He wears a weary look nearly every time Marco sees him. But the way they smile at one another and walk out with their arms around one another's waist …

Well, Marco figures he's like a lot of the other patrons that come by. Its just an inkling, but its a strong one. Marco wonders - casually, of course - just how much the boy goes for. The place is cheap, so the clients are cheap.

Ace is definitely too attractive for the going rates of the place, Marco decides.

Its stupid to think about, though. So he doesn't. He takes his phone, cigarettes, and wallet and heads out from behind the counter.

Marco always takes a smoke break at one thirty AM, right before bars close. When the bars let out, he usually has to do some work.

Its only a few drags into his Camel Crush that a pickup rolls into the parking lot, just a few yards away. Marco sighs out smoke and laments the fact that he'll have to clip it before he gets his full nicotine fix.

Ace hops out of the truck, and it occurs to Marco that he never considered how the young man got to the motel in the first place. Its sort of out of the way from a lot.

He goes to clip the smoke on the bottom of his Doc Marten, and Ace holds his hand up as if to tell him to stop.

"Its cool, I can wait." he says, voice a little rough with what Marco takes to be exhaustion.

"Thanks, man." comes his reply, then a beat of silence, "You want one?"

"If you can spare it, yeah. Please and thanks." he steps closer, and grins, and Marco takes a moment to appreciate that grin before digging his pack out again. As soon as he takes the smoke, he pops the bead in the filter that turns it to menthol. A seasoned smoker.

Marco lights the end of the smoke for him.

"You're here alone for once."

"How astute."

Marco smiles, exhaling a laugh despite himself, "Thought a guy like you would have some, uh. Arm candy. I mean, you usually do."

"Arm candy." he repeats, slowly, like he's testing the words on his tongue, "Guy like me. Hm. Do I really exude the kind of air that screams 'deserves arm candy'?"

"Well, every time I've seen you come in you're hanging onto one another." Marco shrugs. Ace shrugs too.

"He's my brother, not my boyfriend or anything. We're just close." he exhales the smoke. Huh. Swing and a_ spectacular _miss on the whole male prostitute and john thing. He feels a little dumb and embarrassed at that, but ashes and manages to keep his cool.

It strikes Marco as weird that he comes to a sleazy as all Hell motel with his brother, but they must have their reasons.

"Guess the word 'assume' really does make an ass out of you and me."

Ace stares at Marco for a split second before he starts _laughing_. Its the first time he's heard him laugh harder than something polite and casual, and its still just as nice. Under those fluorescents, moths bumping headlong, he manages to look stunning.

It occurs to Marco that he might have an odd infatuation with him.

"Man, I didn't know anyone besides middle school teachers actually said that." the syllables come out laced with snickers and smoke. Marco has to laugh, too; its contagious.

"My gramma used to say it. Guess it just got ingrained into my personal vocabulary."

Marco finishes his smoke when Ace still has a quarter of his left.

He ashes, "Was your gramma a middle school teacher?"

"Nah, nurse. Good guess though."

Ace puts the smoke out in the proper container for it, exhaling through the motions. Still grinning, he straightens.

"What did you assume about me, exactly?"

Marco spends too much time wondering if he should play it straight or not, and turns to open the door to the front office. Over his shoulder, "Well, the place has a rep, you know?"

He starts laughing again, following, "You thought I was a hooker?"

"Rep." Marco repeats. He circles around to the space behind the counter.

"Do I look like a hooker?"

"Wear your jeans a little lower and brush your hair back, maybe."

"You seem pretty acquainted with gigolos."

Marco grins at the outdated and ridiculous term, rolling his eyes a little. "They're not as common as female sex workers, but I know the type. You staying for the night again?"

"Two nights, actually." Ace says, fishing out his wallet from his back pocket, "What's your name?"

Their eyes meet. The question was a little abrupt, but delivered just as casual. He slaps money down on the counter, unable to hide his smirk. Still contagious.

"Marco." he swipes the money off the counter.

"You don't look like a Marco." he squints at this, as if fitting a better name to the face. Marco quirks an eyebrow in response, leaning on the counter just as the other does.

"You seem pretty acquainted with Marcos."

"I'm not, actually, but I might like to be." Ace says, playful, but he rights himself from leaning. _Shit_, Marco thinks, _Kid got me_. He almost laughs before Ace continues, "We set?"

"Yeah. Let me know if you need anything, don't set the room on fire, blah blah, you know the drill." he says this while taking the room key out to hand to Ace. He takes it and catches Marco's eye again. The both of them look tired, feel tired, but there's some sort of spark in Ace's eye for just a second that belies his exhaustion.

"_Thaaaanks_, man. Good night!"

He leaves with a wave, leaving Marco feeling just slightly bereft.

Its an odd encounter, he thinks. But all the same, like after every other patron, like every time at one forty-five on his shifts, he sits down and he waits.

* * *

><p>Luffy treats doors how football players treat paper banners - he crashes on through. Sabo is much too tired and much too weighed down with bags to be able to grab him by the back of his shirt and reel him in. Its not much of a big deal, anyway.<p>

He flips on the lights.

"Heel, Luffy, heel." he says, anyway. Ace is curled up in one corner of the bed, still in his t-shirt and jeans. It wouldn't surprise Sabo if he'd forgotten to bring pajamas at all. Good thing he thinks ahead.

"Time is it?"

"Like, three." Luffy chirps, falling back onto the bed, "We got Burger King, so sit up."

He does, possibly quicker than he should have; the lights burn at his eyes. Rubbing the sleep out of them, Ace rights himself more on the bed and regards his brothers.

Normally, they'd show up together, but the newly arrived pair had prior obligations and Ace had a bad need to leave.

There's not a lot of down time at Dadan's, with people coming in and out at all hours of the night and day. It just seemed to strike a nerve now moreso than before, like the planets aligned to magnify Ace's irritation. Anxiety and anger swelled in his chest until he found himself driving to the oft-visited motel, a text sent to Luffy and Sabo as an afterthought.

He'd calmed down on the ride over with System of A Down playing, honestly; just getting away from the situation was enough. Still, something strange hangs over the night like a storm cloud.

Sabo offers him a bag of food and sinks into the chair at the desk. He looks older than he is, weary. Ace counts on the three of them sleeping in late.

"How was the movie?" Ace asks. He picks through the fries and pops a couple in his mouth. Where Sabo looks tired, Luffy appears wide awake in the sort of caught - his - second - wind sort of way.

Still, he's been known to drop and sleep absolutely any time, anywhere.

"Funny. I started a slow clap at the end." Luffy replies, matter of fact, tacking on, "You should have come."

"I wouldn't have been good company, kiddo." he jokes, "Maybe next time."

Sabo starts to take off his binder through his shirt, speaking as he does, "Thanks for getting the room, anyway. No way I could have slept in that house tonight."

"That bad, huh?"

Sabo nods and stands, all languid, looking like he's about to drop any minute. Discarding his binder on the floor, he promptly flops into bed with his feet hanging off the edge. Luffy snickers and pats at his head.

Ace takes that as a cue, that Sabo doesn't want to talk about his insufferable parents or the games they play and the shows they put on at their son's expense. They're not entirely supportive or knowledgeable in regards to his gender identity, so he has it pretty rough.

At least Dadan genders Luffy and Ace correctly, even if she's a loud drunk. Ace pets at Sabo's head too, a silent show of solidarity, but he's out like a light.

Luffy takes the remote off the bedside table and begins to flip through the channels, silent and worn out. He doesn't settle on a single show while they pick through their food, unspeaking. Soon he falls asleep too, sitting propped up against the headboard with the remote still in his hands.

The TV plays the news and Ace feels the weight of the day, heavy over him. He thinks a lot of nothing, static in his brain while the newscasters speak. Its nice to zone out, some, after all the introspection and negativity of the day.

Just as the reports cycle for the third time, he falls under sleep's spell, too.


	2. Make You Feel Better

this chapter is so much longer than the first; there's just not a good place to break it off. i'd like to thank everyone for their reviews, follows, and faves; they really kept me going! you're all the best.

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><p>Eight o'clock comes, bringing with it the sun and another night's hard-earned wages. Marco can't seem to get out of there fast enough, with that shift-end vigor like gas in the tank. He checks his phone just after sliding into his car. Sure enough, its lit up with a message from Rakuyo.<p>

Breakfast today, in case you forgot.

Nah, he couldn't forget that. Rakuyo should know, especially since Pops would end up hauling his ass back home bodily if he forgot. He shoots back, " affirmative, presently en route " as a joke, and starts up the car. Its not like its a far drive; he suspects that everyone is there already.

Whitebeard's kids are always prompt to respond to his requests. One sort of has to be prompt. Its not that's he's especially demanding, but that he's helped out so many of them in huge ways that they all feel indebted.

When Edward Newgate says jump, his kids ask how high. Its just how things go.

Need anything while I'm out?

He sends the text at a red light, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. This is a weekly occurrence; same time, same place. It never gets old, thankfully; everyone gets along and they help one another out. These get togethers are always looked forward to, not dreaded. Bracketing his week neat and cleanly, time to catch up with those he's called his family for so long.

Haruta said they want ice cream for their waffles.

They even used their manners this time.

Of course they do. He soon turns into a small grocery store to procure the ice cream, and a new pack of smokes.

Word. You got it.

Marco puts the phone down and climbs out of the car to head inside. Not even when he reaches the door, he sees a pair of men that he recognizes, exiting.

Shanks, hand raised in greeting when he notices Marco, with his seldom-seen, severe-looking partner. Mihawk, or something. Marco greets him with a nod in turn. The red-haired man is all smiles when he strides up, but Mihawk looks more reserved. Marco only ever met the guy once.

"Sup, Shanks. And Mihawk, right?"

Mihawk nods curtly, and Shanks beams, speaks, "Its been a while; Whitebeard invited us over for breakfast today."

"No shit?" he says, "Must wanna talk with you, or something."

"Ah, he might've mentioned something." he waves his hand dismissively. Marco has to smirk.

"Hope you're not in trouble with Pops. You know how scary he can get."

Everything about Shanks is good natured, even when he rolls his eyes at the comment. He's such a genuine sort of guy, but Marco has seen him get fierce before. Respectable. Even if they banter, its a good sort of banter; Marco approves of him in general.

"I suppose its a good thing that Whitebeard doesn't have me on a leash, hm?" he teases. Marco sniffs.

"Shut up, man." he says, flatly, then adds, "I'll see you there, yeah? Haruta will flip if I don't get there with their ice cream soon."

"Of course." Shanks replies, inclining his head, "See you there."

He turns his back on Marco, heading back with Mihawk to their car, bag-laden. Marco watches them for a second, before walking inside the store himself.

Wondering casually what Whitebeard needs Shanks for, he heads to the freezer. Top secret old queer veteran business, no doubt.

The both of them go way back, though the details are lost to Whitebeard's kids. Just old friends who have one another's backs, who sometimes bicker. Marco isn't especially curious about whatever they went through together, though. Their business is their business.

Soon enough, he's walking back to the car with ice cream, new smokes, and a carton of orange juice, because the crew goes through it like its nothing.

The trip to Whitebeard's is short from there. Cars all parked in the driveway, Marco does a quick count. He's the last to arrive, of course.

He lets himself in, met immediately with the smell of breakfast and the din of laughter and conversation. Kicking off his shoes at the entrance, he holds the bag out to a passing Haruta, who takes it and bounces on their heels.

"Thanks, you're a life saver." they grin, skipping off to put the ice cream and orange juice away.

Thatch, Jozu, Izo, Vista, and Rakuyo are seated at the table, looking wide awake. Marco nods his hello and lights his cigarette before sitting beside them. Haruta strides back in from the kitchen, taking their place beside Izo.

"Where's Pops?"

"Talking with Shanks and Mihawk." Rakuyo says, and the look on his face spells 'top secret old queer veteran business' indeed. Just as suspected.

"Someone is in trouble. And it ain't me." Jozu says, "I've been good."

"I'm sure," Izo snickers. "Maybe we're all in trouble?"

"Nah. Its Haruta."

"Yeah, definitely Haruta."

"Definitely."

Haruta kicks at Marco under the table just as the three eldest walk back into the room. Whitebeard looks over the table and nods, as if satisfied.

Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate is the patriarch of a house of queer strays, taken in at various points in their lives; he helps them get back on their feet or find a sense of family, community - whichever they need more. He's incredibly adamant about the notion of created family, and all the strays he's taken in cling to this notion wholeheartedly.

He stands proud at the head of his table, in front of his small pack of family and friends.

"Everyone here? Good." he says gruffly, "Dig in, you animals."

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><p>Luffy - God bless him - is stir-crazy in the tiny motel room, alternating between bouncing on the edge of the bed and staring out the window. Rain beats down hard on the pavement, providing a sleepy sort of sound that might lull Ace back into it. He always gets tired on rainy days.<p>

Nights are no better.

"Do you remember when we were like … seven and ten and ten and we were coming home off the bus stop and it rained really hard like this for, like, five minutes?" Luffy pipes up from his spot at the window. He looks back to grin at his brothers. "Cleared up quick, too."

"Sure I do." Sabo says, "We got absolutely drenched and Dadan barked at us for tracking mud."

"What good times." comes Ace's sarcastic remark.

"It totally was! We should run out there again. Right now."

He's not waiting for a response, opting instead to whip off his hoodie and go bounding out the door. Sabo and Ace share a look before slowly rising to their feet to stand at the doorway like the weary caretakers they are. Luffy, barefoot and laughing, races around by himself in the dark of the motel parking lot.

"You're gonna get sick again!" Ace calls.

"You sound like an old man!"

"He got you there, old timer." Sabo remarks. He then sighs, as if contemplating some great thing, before taking off running after Luffy. Ace tails him quickly, not about to be outdone. Fuck it, he figures.

The steady crash of rain dampens both their clothes and their laughter. Ridiculous as it is, Ace actually feels pretty good about not caring and running around in the rain with his brothers. Most things are better with them.

Luffy ends up leading the two of them to the patch of grass that borders the parking lot, sitting down to watch traffic. As they creep closer to midnight, it slows to a few passing cars a minute.

The rain lightens to a mere drizzle as time passes.

One of the cars - a familiar looking jeep - pulls in and parks nearby. The trio watches the driver climb out, but only Ace's gaze lingers. Marco squints at the boys and makes his way over.

"You guys get locked out or something?"

"No." Luffy says brightly, turning back around.

He blinks, slowly, "All right. Just needed to dance in the rain, or whatever?"

Luffy nods and shoots Marco a thumbs up, "You got it."

"Heh, not the weirdest shit I've seen around here. Have a good night, then."

Before he can turn to leave, Ace calls out, "Hey, when do you take your smoke break?"

There's a grin on Marco's face he doesn't even bother to hide, "One thirty, usually. You gonna bother me?"

"If I have a nic fit, sure. Marco." he tacks on the name with a small snicker, which earns an odd look from both Luffy and Sabo.

"I'll be waiting with bated breath. Ace." Marco nods, still smiling, and turns to head inside.

Sabo's eyebrows furrow in a silent sort of, "what was that?".

"We ended up talking yesterday. He's kind of funny, I flirted at him." he explains.

"Did it work?"

"Well, its not like I asked him on a date." Ace shrugs, "I'm just sort of playing."

"Ace of hearts," Luffy teases, flopping over across his lap. Ace tugs at his hair, to which Luffy sticks out his tongue, defiant.

"I'll Ace-of-clubs you if you don't get off me, kiddo." he says it playfully, pinching at the younger's cheek.

Luffy cups his hands around his mouth and boos at the pun.

"Hey. No clubbing, please." Sabo says, though he laughs a little, "And we should head inside. Its getting cold."

Sabo stands, and Luffy offers his hand. The elder helps him up, and the third follows suit. They're drenched from head to toe and the chill of it has begun to work closer towards their bones, leaving them shivering just slightly.

They end up back inside, huddled on the bed in new, dry clothes, toweling off their hair.

As soon as he's dry enough, Luffy jumps underneath the covers for warmth. He still looks wide awake, like the hour doesn't touch him. Sabo flops over across his legs, while Ace changes his shirt, opting to stay in his jeans.

Swiping the bottle of rum off the table, he takes a seat on the bed to join his brothers.

All the anger and sleep from the day prior has drained off of Ace, like shedding a second skin with the help of the two with him. Some pessimistic part of him, dank and dark, knows its just going to come over him again. It always seems to come back around, and he hasn't gotten any better at fighting it off.

"Are you gonna go visit that guy?" Luffy asks, pulling the blanket up to his chin. The sleepy voice pulls Ace from his reverie.

Ace shrugs, swigging at the booze, "Maybe. He's cute."

Luffy rolls over and makes a humming noise, as if in contemplation of his brother's decision.

"I guess." he yawns, shaking his head.

Sabo yawns too, before piping up, "We have to check out soon, huh?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Nah, I think I'll be fine if we do. Mom and Dad will probably be in their martini and muscle relaxer comas like they usually are on weekends." he says it simply, punctuating it with a shrug, but Ace can hear the sardonic tone stitching together the words.

Luffy makes a noise that sounds a lot like disgust. He's always made his disapproval of Sabo's situation well known; then again, its hard not to. Its his call, ultimately.

"If it gets bad, I have places I can go. You guys know that."

"How is your girlfriend, anyway?" Ace asks, snickering. Sabo buries his face in the covers, a quiet 'shut up' thrown at the other.

The trio lapses into silence after that, but its an easy sort of silence.

Its nice to have, a quiescence that doesn't need to be filled.

* * *

><p>Ace is met with the whooping and hollering of his brothers when he exits the room, much to his dismay. He shoots them a middle finger and shuts the door quickly, before glancing around to see if Marco is indeed out for his smoke break.<p>

He's about seven doors down, a distance that feels like a football field. He walks it anyway, nodding his greeting at the other.

"Sounds like a real wild party in there," Marco says by way of greeting. He shakes a Crush out of his pack and hands it to Ace. Then he flicks a Zippo out to the end before Ace can so much as ask. Once the cherry is glowing and smoking, Ace leans against the building and nods.

"They're almost always going bonkers." he says, mirth curving his lips upwards. "Thanks, by the way."

"No problem, champ."

"Champ? Jeez." Ace shakes his head, "Your vernacular is pretty strange. That one made you sound like a lame older brother. And I'd know what that sounds like."

Marco grins, eyes focused elsewhere, as if remembering some sort of private joke, "I've been called all that before, Ace."

A silence similar to the one before, in the room, falls over them. They smoke their cigarettes in peace, just a few drags, before Marco pipes up again. Ace ashes and turns to face him.

"I gotta ask - and normally I don't ask patrons this - but … You're not, like, street kids or anything, are you? Just 'cause you come here an awful lot."

"No." Ace answers, brows furrowed a little, "No, the three of us have places to go back to."

"Right. I'm sort of in the business of worrying about that kind of stuff."

"Are you? You kind of looked like you couldn't care less every time I came in," Ace exhales the sentence with his smoke. Marco laughs a huffy sort of laugh.

"That's just my face." he replies, shifting his weight from over one hip to the other, "My Pops sort of instilled that worry in me."

"You and your Pops run an orphanage?"

"Kind of."

"… Under the table orphanage?"

He laughs again, taking a moment to drag off his smoke and exhale. Ace does the same.

"Nah. We just give back to the queer community, mostly helping homeless kids find places to stay. Networking and giving resources, stuff like that."

This piques Ace's interest; he lifts his head a little, eyes trained on Marco.

"Really? That's awesome, man. I'd like to do stuff like that, too."

"No shit. Its not that hard to get into, you just gotta meet the right people." he punctuates the sentence with a wink that makes Ace smile.

"Are you the right people to get into the queer illuminati?"

"Suppose I am. Hazing is pretty wicked, though."

"You're funny, Marco."

"Been called that, too."

A car turns into the parking lot, then, signaling to Marco that the need to get back to work is imminent. He doesn't look especially pleased about that, exhaling out smoke. The cigarette is smoked down to the bust, so he clips it on the bottom of his boot.

Ace watches him pull a pen out of his pocket, then grab his hand to scrawl something on the palm. His hands are a little rough with callouses; grip firm, warm.

"My number." Marco says, slipping the pen back into the pocket of his jeans, "If you're for real on the queer illuminati thing, text me some time."

"Can do, Marco."

Marco's eyes seem to twinkle at that, with something other than the glow of artificial light overhead. Ace gets the distinct feeling that he's thinking of something private again, that he might very well be walking into something resembling a secret society.

Marco turns to walk into the building, with a quiet "good night" tossed casually over his shoulder, and the spell breaks; the previous notion strikes Ace as a silly one. He flicks the sizeable ash from the end of the cigarette and glances again at Marco's number on his palm. Dropping his hand to his side, he finishes the smoke and then programs the digits into his phone before heading back to the room.

When he walks back in, Sabo and Luffy are sprawled across the bed, which looks a bit like a tornado hit it. The sheets lay strewn about, pillows slumped over weakly, battle-worn, on the floor. Must have been jumping on it, he figures.

"Are you gonna get married now, or whatever it is allos do?" Luffy asks.

"Shut up." Ace yawns. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed, eyes trained on the television. Cartoons, bright. "Do you guys wanna go for a drive or something?"

"Stir crazy again?" comes Sabo's voice.

"Maybe I just want to feel the city air on me."

"You're weird. I wouldn't mind!" Luffy pipes up, "So long as we can get something to eat."

"I knew you were going to say that." Ace huffs, "You bottomless pit."

"So that's a yes!"

Luffy bounds up and out of the room. Sabo and Ace share a look, then a silent count down from five. Before they reach one, the youngest of the three returns with an 'oh yeah!', sliding his feet into his shoes.

The trio is out in the truck in a matter of moments, with Ace taking the wheel. The motel's proximity to the highway is something like convenient, when he turns onto it and coasts. Luffy sits in the middle, kicking his feet and bobbing his head along to the music playing in the CD player.

This is fine, Ace thinks; much better than the days prior, like an upwards climb outside of the negativity. They'll have to return to it soon, but the stays out by themselves just repair the cracks in the armor, give them ammunition.

Ace drives them to a Denny's, much to Luffy's excitement; he'd been expecting something from a drive thru. They find their ways inside, they order drinks. Luffy ends up sucking down his entire drink before the waitress returns to take food orders.

Chin held in his hand, Ace stirs his drink. They fill the silence with idle chatter; dysphoria, gender, transition.

Ace learns its been easier on his brothers, as far as dysphoria goes. He supposes they're lucky, having been blessed with smaller chests. The thought of his own makes him squirm, makes him deflect the conversation in a way that Luffy doesn't notice, a way that makes Sabo narrow his eyes.

The topic moves onto school and friends, weaving stories of this one and that one and how they all fit together. Ace wants to record his brothers' chatter, their laughter, to keep away the negativity. Prayers.

They link their arms and they leave, opting to sit in the parking lot. Time pulls the moon higher in the sky, up to and past her zenith.

Summer will end soon, bringing with it neat and tidy blocks of time with the school year. It was a decent summer; they only got in trouble once for pool hopping.

Before he gets pulled into reverie too deeply, Ace shakes his head and turns onto a side street, riddled with pot holes. Its far away from where Sabo lives, but they're familiar streets, run through time and time again.

"Remember when you were going down that hill on Rowan a scooter in like, eighth grade and you totally ate shit?" Ace snickers, elbowing Sabo gently. The blonde taps his temple fondly with a grin.

"Got my shit-eating scar right here." he changes track, "Remember when we had to go out looking for Luffy and Zoro at like, ass o'clock in the morning 'cause they didn't know where they were?"

"Remember when shut up? I learned a valuable lesson that day!"

"And that is?"

"Never follow Zoro. Ever." he nods decisively, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ace laughs, "You live and you learn, huh?"

Luffy nods again, leaning out of the open window a little. August smells sweet, not quite nature-dead like it will in September. They coast, turning here and there, still keeping up their chatter. The youngest ends up falling asleep, gentle snores, with his head against Sabo's shoulder.

Ace heads back in the direction of the motel, finally, with a sleeping brother and a quiet one. He stays quiet only for the length of the thirty miles-per-hour trip down Drexler.

"Ace, are you okay, by the way?"

He turns the truck, "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seemed a little antsy when we were talking about chest surgery and stuff."

"Its not exactly my favorite topic." he shrugs. He didn't really notice it, didn't see it as being a big deal. How can it be something approached with enthusiasm and smiles when its so steeped in dysphoria, in necessity? Its just more negativity he wants to be on the other side of.

"Right. … You can talk with us, you know."

"I know, man." he bumps his fist against the other's knee in acknowledgement, some small show of thanks. "I am fine and will continue to be."

"I sure hope so."


	3. I'm Around

god it feels like its been forever? i don't have a set schedule for my updates, but this one feels overdue. thanks everyone for your reviews! i read them all the other day and it gave me the strength to finish this chapter.

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><p>Ace's eyes are trained on his Nintendo DS, like they have been all morning. Sunlight streams in through the bay window, a beam under which the house cat lays. Both Luffy and Ace feel similarly lazy, as is par the course on a summer day. They've committed themselves to the sunlight like the cat, before.<p>

Stretched out across the couch, feet in Ace's lap, Luffy heaves a dramatic sigh.

"You're being boring."

"Good." says the other, eyes still trained on the screen.

"Good bye, Ace!" Luffy yells, rolling off of the other onto the ground. He catches himself on his palms, push up stance, before rolling to a loose cross legged position. Then he buries himself in his phone, sending a mass text out.

i have a boring brother someone save me

A reply comes back relatively quick. Sanji.

Sure thing. I'm with Zoro, Usopp, and Kuina right now.

Is that all right?

The prospect has him bouncing where he sits.

hell yeah it is! im at dadans, come get meeeee

He all but throws his phone down on the floor, flopping down on it himself. Every movement today is dramatic, that's what he decided.

Sabo happens to be at Koala's, bless him; it had been Ace and Luffy's turn to applaud and whoop and holler at him before he set off to the girl's house. The way his face colors all bright red at the cheering makes the others laugh every time.

Honestly, he more than deserves some time with her. Its been rough at his home as of late, sending the normally cheerful boy into spots of quietness, dropped smiles. Ace figures its nothing he can't bounce back from, but its also nothing he deserves.

"Sanji is coming to get me soon, so you'll have to function without me."

"I can manage, I think." Ace says evenly, "You have fun though, yeah?"

Its clear that Ace isn't invited along this time, which is fine by him. As much as he enjoys the company of his brothers, time away from them can be valuable, too. The clock chimes noon, bells sounding throughout the otherwise empty home.

Luffy ends up scrambling out the door in about twenty minutes' time, a "catch you later, Ace!" thrown hastily over his shoulder. He waves his good bye, watching out the window as Luffy quite literally jumps into the car; he can even hear the younger boy howling, "drive, drive, drive!" as he hangs out of the damn thing.

Ten minutes burns away in the light of the DS, before it occurs to Ace that he actually has chores to do today. Dadan left a list.

He ends up getting up after another forty to mow the lawn. Summer heat beats down on him, sweat collecting at his temples from the exertion. When the work is done, he brings himself to the quiet house again to finish the dishes. He feeds the cat and takes out the garbage, putting on music on the living room's stereo.

It seems like he does all of this on autopilot, not thinking very much of anything. Going through his motions, little robot boy. Sinking back onto the couch with John Frusciante playing, he thinks very pointedly, _fuck, I'm lonely_.

And he doesn't know how to fix it.

His brothers are gone, and his friends are all either jerks from high school, or jerks hanging out with Luffy. It dawns on him that he might need new friends, but this isn't a novel train of thought for him.

Friends like most of his aren't real friends, but Ace can sometimes get starved for company. They crack insensitive jokes from time to time, but they buy cheap beer and smoke good weed, so its not like its all bad.

Lonely though Ace is, he doesn't much feel like going to that level.

_Beggars can't be choosers, asshole,_ he tells himself, and he stares at his phone. He's scrolling through his contacts list on the way to 'T', before he stops at 'M'.

He ends up texting Marco.

hey its ace. not sure if there was some queer illuminati codeword that im missing or not

And he waits.

The codeword is codeword, actually, so you're lucky.

What's up?

Ace laughs despite himself, fingers flying over the keypad.

a whole lot of fuck all basically

my brothers all left and the cat doesnt wanna spend time with me

It feels sort of strange and somewhat exciting to be texting someone new, and it dawns on Ace how_lame_ that actually is. Whatever; the conversation is decent.

What do you usually do when you're bored?

hang out with straight white guys.

At least he's easy to talk to, so far. Ace tips over on the couch, closing his eyes for a moment. The playlist on the stereo is almost over; he'll need to get up and change it.

Are they getting on your nerves, or something?

Ace ends up telling Marco about his shitty friends for a few texts, before the conversation falls out to where they went to school, how long they've been around the area.

Ace finds out that Marco is a relative newcomer, where Ace has been in the same house for most of his life. Its been six years since Marco relocated from Washington, down into the sunshine and heat and noise of California.

He says he likes it a lot better.

The conversation carries Ace through the living room to the kitchen to his room; time rolls off.

What are you up to now, besides texting me?

still nothing :P

Wanna hang out or something?

I got everything done I needed to get done.

He considers this, too, but it doesn't take much mulling.

* * *

><p>The front porch is wet where its rained, leaving the seat of Ace's pants despairingly damp. His legs move of their own accord, bouncing up and down a hundred miles an hour. Maybe it should occur to him that its a nervous gesture. It doesn't. Marco agreed to come get him, thankfully. Ace feels he has done more than enough driving for the past few days.<p>

Marco requested that he be shown around the neighborhood a little, being that its an area he's seldom visited. Ace has enough stories to fill a book or two; good thing he was a problem child.

He pulls up in his jeep, arm hanging out of the window and music barely audible from the distance between them. Ace nods his greeting, circling around to climb in the passenger side. He finds he doesn't recognize the music at all. Its something like EDM, quiet in volume but energetic.

Marco looks as sleepy as he always does, posture a little slack in the driver's seat, but his eyes still have that odd spark in them when he looks over to Ace.

"Hey, man." he greets.

"Yo. Where we goin' first?"

Ace hums in thought, considering. He pipes up after a moment, "Turn outta here and take a right. There's a playground around here I used to haunt."

"Yes, captain." Marco backs out of the driveway, "Playground, huh?"

"Yeah. I started running away to it when I was like, seven? Dadan caught on pretty early, but we'd go there anyway."

"You and you brother?"

"Brothers, yeah."

"Tell me about 'em." he turns the right as he's bid, coasting down the main road at a leisurely pace. Ace thinks; where to begin with them?

"There's Sabo, who's a few months younger than me. He's the nice brother, he's always kinda … soft on Luffy. I think he's probably a better person than I am, a lot more patient."

"Mmhm."

"Take another right two blocks up. There's, ah. Luffy, who's younger by three years." he crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back into the seat more, "He's fun and loud and really blunt. He could probably beat anyone in an eating competition. … I want the best for both of 'em."

Ace stays silent and shy for all of two seconds at the admission, before piping up, "Do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah. Bunch of 'em. They're all ridiculous and I dunno what I'd do without those jerks." he snickers under his breath, shakes his head, "I get what you mean about wanting the best for 'em, though."

"Are you close in age?"

"Mmm. Most of us are twenties, thirties, but I got a younger sister named Haruta who's eighteen. They're a trip."

"Go straight for a three blocks and then turn a left onto Maple. It'll be on your side." Ace instructs, before continuing, "Little siblings are always a trip, I think."

"Even the big ones are. Sometimes I'm the guy everyone goes to for their own shit, which isn't a bad thing. I like helping, you know?"

"Yeah, I get you. Sounds like you get along, at least …"

"Most of the time." Marco muses, mirthful. He seems like the kind of guy, to Ace, that has a lot of inside jokes; it almost always looks like he's remembering one of them. An intriguing sort of guy …

The jeep rolls to a stop at the park soon thereafter. Its a decent size, though back when he and his brothers were younger, it seemed so much bigger. So much more impressive. This was their battle-worn castle, their spaceship, their respite. The swings off in the distance lent to more grass stains and hurt wrists and ankles than anything else; the field held their kickball games and tag.

"Tell me about something that happened here." Marco says, once they're out and heading towards the wood chips. Ace searches, stepping up onto one of the platforms to stride to the bridge, where he bounces in place.

"Mmm … One time a bunch of us were out playing Manhunt, if you know what that is."

"Nah."

Marco joins him on the bridge, hands closed around the teal railing, paint chipping.

"Its like hide and seek, but you look for a single person. I was really good at it and no one ran faster than me. Everyone wanted me to be 'it', 'cause I was the best." he tells him, snickering at the memories, "My claim to fame, being really good at Manhunt when I was ten. Anyway, see that fence _waaaay_ over there?"

He points to a red fence on the other side of the playground - this old wooden thing, faded and weathered.

"Mmhm."

"I hopped it 'cause I hadn't before, and we had basically exhausted all the good hiding spots. There was this huge dog on the other side. Scared the fuck out of me even though all it did was bark, so I screamed bloody god damn murder, and the dog's owner came out. I had to book it the long way around and … _God_, I started laughing my ass off like half way to the park, but I was shaking so bad that I just ended up collapsing on the grass."

Ace and Marco share a quiet laugh over it, but the former drops his gaze to his shoes. He heads off towards the monkey bars just a few feet away.

"Everyone thought I got bitten, and I was laughing and wheezing so hard that they didn't get the real story for, like, ten minutes. Luffy thought I had rabies."

That earns another laugh out of Marco. Its a nice sound, Ace finds. He starts across the monkey bars, having to hold his knees closer to his chest because of the lack of height.

"Did you get in trouble?"

"Nah, surprisingly," he says it with some effort, still powering through the monkey bars. He gets to the other side and hops down, arms in the air in something like triumph. Marco follows suit. They fall into silence, climbing higher in the playground. Ace slides down the slide and Marco takes the pole down, wood chips crunching under his feet as he hits bottom.

"Tell me about when you and your sibs were younger." Ace says, once Marco has circled around. Ace sits at the base of the slide, turning over a chip in his hands.

"We didn't really grow up together. Chosen family, not biological." Marco remarks, plopping down in the wood chips unceremoniously, "But I can tell you about us more recently."

The notion of chosen family hits home for Ace. He wonders exactly how big Marco's clan is, but nods to start the story.

"My brother Rakuyo does drag, right. So one day he decided he wanted to make me pretty, and I had Izo and him fussing over me for … A ridiculously long time. He's an incredibly dedicated queen."

Marco snickers, shakes his head, "We were all over at Pops' place while we were getting pretty. Pops and Thatch needed someone to run out to the store because we were out of milk, so of course we all had to go out with make up on."

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah. I mean, it was funny — I think I have pictures, hang on."

Marco digs his phone out of his pocket to go through his photos, continuing the story as he goes, "We got a lot of weird looks, but didn't get heckled or anything. I actually got hit on. Pretty hard. Ended up giving the guy my number and … Ah, here we go."

He turns his phone to show Ace, who leans in closer so as to see better. There's a selfie on the screen and — well, damn. Rakuyo does excellent work. The make up is mostly blues, with a dark cerulean for the lipstick. He flips to the next picture, where he looks slightly ridiculous, making an over-the-top duck face.

"Wow, dude. That looks …" his voice trails as he tries to find a word.

"Hot, right?"

Ace laughs, a little embarrassed, "Yeah. So you gave the guy your number and … ?"

"_Weeeell_ …" the quirk of his eyebrow and the grin on his face says it all before he puts it into words. Ace holds up a hand, laughing more.

"Gotcha."

"Ended up staying in the make up all day, though," Marco says, slowly getting to his feet. Ace follows suit, and the two of them walk towards the swings.

They swing for a while, trade stories.

Ace tells Marco about when he taught Luffy how to ride a bike, when Luffy ended up taking off down the block and Ace and Sabo had to chase him. He tells him how he felt like he was in an action movie, how they laughed so hard they didn't even have the heart to chide Luffy.

Marco tells Ace about the poker game a month ago, when he refused to talk to Vista for a week for getting two royal flushes in a row. He says that he nearly flipped the table, it was so ridiculous, that he lost a bunch of money that night, that Vista said he forgave him first.

They end up driving around the neighborhood; more stories, talking about this and that. Ace learns that Marco is a recovering alcoholic. Marco learns that Ace doesn't want to talk about his biological parents.

Hours burn away under their talks, taking them further into the suburbs. The nicer areas.

"I'm afraid I don't have any stories for this part of town," Ace remarks. The houses here are bigger — developments.

"Me either. Pops is in this area, though … Would you wanna meet him and whoever's around?" Marco asks, sounding somewhat hopeful.

Ace nearly makes a sarcastic joke about meeting his parent on the first date, but bites his tongue. This is hardly a date. There's a thick pause while he thinks it over. He's nervous around parental figures, but this man is doing what he wants to do, apparently — helping out the queer community. That's enough to make him want to say yes.

"Its cool if you don't wanna," Marco says gently. Ace shakes his head.

"Its not that I don't wanna, I do. Parents and me are weird, is all."

"Nah, I gotcha. We can skip it."

"No, its okay. I think I'd like to meet the head of the queer illuminati."

Marco laughs and wheels the car around.


End file.
